


Just Reboot It

by LoganExeHasStoppedWorking



Category: Animaniacs
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Backstory, Dysfunctional Family, Gen, Heavy Angst, Original Character-centric, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Reboot, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:48:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28444935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoganExeHasStoppedWorking/pseuds/LoganExeHasStoppedWorking
Summary: A new animator is tasked with rebooting the Animaniacs. The only problem is that they didn't seem to come out quite like the Warners. Everything about them is just a bit... off.
Relationships: Original Character & Original Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Redo It and Reuse It

**Author's Note:**

> M'kay, so I came up with these OCs that I talk about a lot on Tumblr and became a little too attached to them, so I decided to make a little fic about their backstory. You really don't need to know anything about them to read this since it's basically an introduction to them.
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy!

“Ms. Norita, you wanted to see me?”

The newest CEO of the Warner Brothers studios turned to face the young man that was entering her office. She grabbed a tablet off her desk and started scrolling. Once she found what she was looking for she nodded. 

“Ah, yes. Alan Harris, right? Close the door behind you and take a seat,” she told him. 

Alan closed the door and slowly walked toward the CEO’s desk. He sat down, but she remained standing.

Alan was a bit nervous. He had never been called into the boss’s office by name before. With that, he couldn’t help but feel like this couldn’t mean anything good. 

Was he about to be fired? Maybe he had made a mistake somewhere? Had a toon done something and blamed it on him?

Worst case scenarios flooded his mind.

Nora walked up to him, not looking up from her tablet. “Harris, I’ve been going through your profile. Graduated as the top student in your animation classes. Has been working here for three years now, and has worked on several animated projects, correct?”

The young animator swallowed and nodded quickly. “Uh, yes ma’am.”

“Perfect,” she said. “I’m a very busy woman, so let’s cut to the chase. I need someone with your set of skills to tackle this next project I have planned.”

Alan nodded again to show that he was listening. He leaned forward.

“I need you to bring back the Warner siblings.”

Alan sat there for a moment, then blinked. “Um… the Warner siblings, Ms. Norita?”

“That’s what I said.”

Alan adjusted his glasses. He cleared his throat. “Oh… but, um, didn’t they disappear a few years after the show ended?”

Alan was somewhat familiar with the Warners. He hadn’t been here when they were around; however, he did hear stories about them from others that had been around at that time. He also knew about the show. 

He hadn’t been the biggest fan, but when reruns of the show came on, he’d sometimes watch it or just have it on for background noise. 

Nora looked up at him for the first time since he walked in. “I know. That’s why I want  _ you _ to bring them back… as a remake.”

“Remake the Animaniacs, ma’am?”

“Did I stutter?”

Alan opened his mouth, then closed it again. 

The CEO sighed in frustration. “Look,” she said, scrolling through her tablet and turning it for the young man to see, “See this?” She pointed at a graph. “This is a graph showing the popularity of the studio back in the nineties. And if you’ll notice, one of our more popular franchises was the Animaniacs. It’s what the people want to see, and if that’s the case, then we have to recreate its success.”

Alan ran a hand through his long, brown hair and scratched the back of his neck. “Aha… well, I guess I can try to redo them. It’ll just take a while since I’d need to do some research and get their personalities just right-”

Nora held up a hand to stop him. “That won’t be necessary.”

“Huh?”

“I want you to make them but differently. They need to be hip. They need to cater to the kids and teens of today, not that nineties crap.”

“Oh,” Alan sighed, “uh, I guess I can do that-”

“Also,” she continued, “I don’t want them running around causing chaos in this studio. We run a business, not a circus. I want you to take out all the zaniness and wackiness of the original ones.”

Alan blinked. “But, then they wouldn’t be the animaniacs anymore. They’d just be…” He thought for a moment. “...normal kids.”

Nora waved a dismissive hand. “Well, we all have to make some sacrifices. Now, you think you can do that for me?”

“I-”

“Perfect! Have them ready in three weeks. See you then.” She shooed him out of her office and slammed the door shut.

The tall man stood there for a moment, trying to process what had just happened.

He was just asked… to remake the Warner siblings… without the traits that made them the Warner siblings…

Alan blinked and stared at the office door for another moment. “Oh, okay,” he called to her, even though he doubted she was listening, “Uh, see you then!”

He turned and left the building.

He didn’t exactly know what he was going to do or how he was going to do it, but he knew one thing.

One way or another, this was going to be a mess.

-

The days flew by all too quickly.

And Alan had nothing. He had drawn a complete blank.

He had a few sketches and drafts of characters that might’ve been what the boss was looking for, but they just didn’t feel right.

He didn’t watch the show all too much, but he knew that this wasn’t the Warners. All toons had their own charm to them that set them apart from humans. That’s what made them, well, cartoons. So taking away the chaos and zany nature didn’t seem right.

If it’s what Nora wanted tho, he would have to come up with the perfect replacements somehow.

More days passed, and the deadline grew closer.

Alan was running out of time to finish these characters.

He worked day in and day out to try to find the perfect mix of cartoony and realistic. Every work seemed to lean too far to each side. It was hard to strike a balance between the two. 

As the deadline got closer, Alan began losing sleep, trying to perfect these toons that were supposed to replace the Warners. 

Finally, there were only two days left.

Alan had nothing. All he had were a few drafts that he had thrown to the side. He didn’t particularly have anything he was proud of. Nothing too noteworthy.

He might have to ask Nora to extend the due date…

He sat at his desk at home, trying to think of something, anything really, that would help him get an idea.

He sighed and set his head down on the table. It didn’t help that he still had to actually color and actually animate his characters.

He turned to look at the bin where crumpled papers laid scattered everywhere with sketches scribbled all over them. None of them had been what he wanted, but he guessed three of them would have to do with the deadline being so close.

He walked over and reached down to pick out a random design. Hopefully, one of these would suffice.

He opened a crumpled piece of paper and looked down it.

Well, these would have to do. Maybe they would even buy him time for the moment being until he could make new ones.

He brought them over to his desk and began tweaking them up a bit.

These three didn’t seem anything like the Warners. In fact, they seemed like exact opposites.

They wouldn’t be Alan’s best works, but something was better than nothing.

The three were nothing like the Warner siblings. The only thing they had in common was their species. Not clothing. Not personalities. They didn’t even have the same child-like charm the originals had.

They weren’t the Warners.

They were completely different people.


	2. If You Wanna Make Some Easy Cash, Just Recycle and Rehash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to see who's Alan created to "replace" the Warners.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing much to say here, except I hope y'all enjoy this chapter!  
> 

He was done. 

Alan had finally finished them. He stared down at his three creations and smiled.

They came out better than he expected. They looked like… well, teenagers. It’s just as his boss had wanted.

The first one to be completed was Yakko’s replacement. 

Rather than the simple outfit the oldest Warner was known for, this kid had been completely changed. Alan wanted him to be able to appeal to a teen audience, so he gave him a more punk aesthetic and aged him up two years.

He wore a purple leather jacket with a lavender long-sleeve shirt underneath. He had gray jeans that were torn at the knees as well. His ears were pierced too with two earrings on each of his long ears. 

The second one was Wakko’s replacement. Alan aged him up as well to be fifteen. He decided to completely do a one eighty with this one. Wakko’s was the hardest to do with his personality being a complete wacky mess, so Alan took that out and made him a bit more refined. He also made him the tallest of the three because he felt that it fit his personality more.

This one wore a red vest with a white button up underneath and beige khakis. 

Finally, there was Dot’s replacement. She was pretty easy to do.

Alan kept all her cute traits, but made her more tomboyish and aged her up to be thirteen. She wore blue overalls and a light green t-shirt. She wore earrings like the first one except she only wore one on each ear.

It wasn’t long before the animator got them animated and talking.

Thankfully, they all seemed pretty tranquil compared to their predecessors. They didn’t talk too much either. 

Well, except for the oldest, but that was to be expected. He was loosely based on the Warner that yaks.

He sat the three toons down on his couch, so he could explain how their meeting with Nora would go.

“Alright,” he finally said, standing in front of them, “tomorrow is a big day for all of us. I just want to prepare you all-”

“You finally gonna cut that man ponytail of yours?” The oldest asked with a smirk.

The taller one snickered.

“W-what? No…” Alan reached back and ran his hand through his hair self-consciously. “I meant-”

“Don’t be mean, Zach,” the young girl said.

Zach, the oldest, looked down at her. He rolled his eyes. “What? That’s what we were all thinking, right?” He nudged his brother.

The other tried to keep a straight face. “No,” he lied. 

Alan sighed, ignoring the last comment. “Look, I need you three to take this seriously. Tomorrow we’re meeting up with Ms. Norita, the CEO of Warner Brothers studios. I need her to find you three likeable enough to land you a show. I also need you three to be on your  _ best _ behavior, okay?”

“‘Course we will,” Zach stated. “We’re little angel’s, aren’t we sibs?” He put an arm around his sister. “Button here is probably the best behaved we got.”

Button tensed up a little and pushed a stand of hair from her face. “Uh… mhm.” She nodded shyly.

Zach crossed his legs and leaned back on the couch. “Besides, I think we’re pretty likable little bastards.”

The tall one who was sitting on the end of the couch perked up his ears. “Who are you calling a bastard, you idiot?”

“It was a joke, Jack. Relax,” Zach told him.

“It’s Jackson,” the other corrected.

Alan rubbed his temples. “I’m being serious! You three need to get it together and act normal!”

Button tilted her head. “But we are normal, aren’t we Papa?”

Alan froze.

He wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. 

He shook his head. “D-don’t call me that.” He gave an audible sigh. “I- I mean, just try to act as though you’re not cartoon characters. I just want you all to stay quiet while I do the talking. That’s it.”

The three of them looked at each other. 

Zach looked up at Alan. “So, what’s in it for us if we do this, Pops?”

“Stop that,” Alan said. “I’m not your dad. I just made you to—”

“So should we call you mum then?” Jackson asked jokingly. 

The other two laughed. 

“Stop it!” Alan snapped. “I’m being serious here!”

The three of them stared up at him. The oldest still had a smile on his face. Alan leaned in closer to him. 

“Okay Mr. Funny Guy,” he said, “you think this is some kind of joke?”

He looked down at his fingernails as though they were far more interesting than what the older man had to say. “I mean, with that look on your face, I’d say so.”

Alan shook his head. “Oh, I bet you’ll be laughing when they lock you three in the water tower for sixty years, won’t you?”

The animator had an idea. He just had to give them a little scare to set these kids straight.

Zach looked up, but Button was the one to speak. “The… the what?” She asked in a soft voice. 

“The Warner Brothers water tower,” Alan explained. “That’s where they trapped your predecessors. After they acted out of line, that’s where they were stuck.”

Button brought her knees closer to her and hugged them. “Th-that can’t be true. They were just kids, w-weren’t they?”

“Yup. Younger than you three even. The executives don’t care. They’ll get rid of you at the drop of a hat and leave you for dead if any of you step out of line.”

Button circle closer to Zach, who put an arm around her. 

Jackson spoke up this time. “That… They won’t do that to us… will they? I mean, we haven’t done anything yet.” He crossed his arms tightly around his chest. 

Alan gave them an exaggerated shrug. “I wouldn’t put it past them.” He looked at the oldest. “So, is it still funny to you?”

A dog-like whimper escaped the teen. “Uh, not when you put it like that… sir.”

“Good. So, you’ll be good tomorrow?”

The three of them nodded quickly. 

“Excellent! It’ll all be fine as long as you three do as you're told.”

-

“Alright Harris, you better have something good for me.”

Nora sat at her desk and gave him an intense stare. She had her hands clasped together and firmly in front of her on the desk. She was prepared for whatever Alan had to present for better or worse. Hopefully, for his sake, it was for the better.

Alan straightened his tie and smoothed his unkempt hair back. He took in a deep breath and smiled.

Dear god, he hoped these kids were going to be good enough. He was really scared of losing his job over this. Or worse… he couldn’t think of what could be worse in that moment, but there was probably something worse that could happen!

He was sweating like crazy. His hands were damp as he clasped them together.

_ Come on Al _ , he told himself _ , they’re great. You got this. _

He cleared his throat.

“I-I do, Ms. Norita! There were a few inconveniences, a-and it took a lot of work to get them right, but-”

“Just get on with it, Harris,” she said sternly, checking her watch. “I have other meetings, you know.”

“Yes!” He blurted out. He cleared his throat again. “Uh, yes. Now, let me introduce you to my new Animaniacs. They’re just out here.”

He opened the door and motioned for his toons to enter the office.

Zach, Jackson, and Button entered the room. They stood up with their backs straight, trying to look as best they could. 

Nora pushed up her glasses and stared skeptically. They certainly were… something.

The drastically different designs intrigued the CEO though. She was curious to see where this was going.

Alan stepped behind them and smiled nervously.

“Now, they aren’t exactly the Warners siblings,” he explained. “When making them, I kind of intended to separate them from their successors.” He cleared his throat nervously. “S-So, they’re more like replacements than actual reboots of the characters-”

“I don’t care,” Nora interrupted. “Just tell me about their personalities. Are they going to appeal to our modern audience?”

“I hope so,” Alan muttered to himself.

“What was that?”

“I-I said I’m sure of it!”

“That’s a lot of stuttering for someone so sure,” Zach commented. He covered his mouth immediately. 

Alan gave him a look. 

Nora raised an eyebrow. “And who are you?” She asked. 

Zach glanced up at Alan quickly. “Uh…” 

He gave him a nod to answer.

“Zachery, Zach for short. I’m the oldest sibling,” he said, taking a few steps forward. 

Nora looked him up and down. “Interesting…” She stood up and walked around her desk to him. “Tell me a bit about yourself, kid.”

“I’m… I guess I’m the leader. And I follow orders pretty well too. I’m pretty smart and… yeah…” He put his hands in his pockets and kicked the ground softly. 

“Hobbies?”

“Lady, I was literally born yesterday. What the hell do you want from me?” He told her. 

_ Dammit Zach _ , Alan thought. 

She put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. “What about your siblings?”

Zach took one hand out of his pocket and pointed to his sister. “That’s Button. She’s the cute one.” He pointed to Jackson. “And that’s my younger brother, Jack. He’s more of the quiet one. Got a bit of a temper too.”

“Do not!” Jackson exclaimed. “And it’s Jackson!”

“Pl-please stop,” Button said softly. 

The CEO held up a hand to silence everyone. “I think I’ve seen enough.”

Everyone went silent. All eyes were on her. 

She brought out her cell phone and dialed a few things. She looked through a few things and finally looked up. 

“I think they’ll do nicely.”

Alan’s eyes widened. “W-wait, you mean it?”

“I don’t play games, Harris,” she said. “According to statistics, teenagers and young adults are into the whole relatability aspect of characters, and the sibling bickering and sarcastic nature is just what we need. The emo look is in too.” She pulled on Zach’s left ear and released it. “With a few good writers and a bit of acting, these three can make us a quick buck.”

She pressed a few more things on her phone. “I’ll order a pilot episode,” she continued. “We’ll get a few test screenings and have a script ready to go by… as soon as next month!”

“S-so we’re not getting locked in the water tower?” Button spoke up. 

Nora shook her head. “Wha— No, of course not! You three are going to bring in some good money. As long as you don’t cause chaos like the Warners, you three should be fine.”

The three of them loosened up. 

Zach sighed. He turned to his siblings. Button ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. He ran a hand through her hair and pulled her close.

Jackson had a smile on his face. He turned to Alan. “We did it Pa!” Jackson stopped. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

Alan put an arm around him. “You know what? I don’t mind right now.” He was too relieved to care what they called him. 

He was just glad he’d get to keep his job.

And the kids were glad they weren't going to be shut inside a water tower for sixty years.

Still, for one of them, it lingered in the back of his mind.He was scared of what would become of them if this pilot didn’t do well.

And rightfully so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the fluff before the angst kicks into full gear!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary! See you next chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully the next chapter will be a bit longer. This one is a bit short and to the point because I want to get to introducing my babies. We'll get to meet them next chapter!
> 
> Take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals! See you next chapter!


End file.
